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How And When To Stop Swaddling Your Baby

How is swaddling like a pacifier? (Sounds like the first question in an I.Q. test, doesn’t it? 😉 Don’t worry – no I.Q. test today!)

Seriously, though, that’s a question worth asking. Even though swaddling your baby and offering your baby a pacifier are very different activities, there are some similarities, aren’t there? Specifically, both swaddling and pacifiers are designed to comfort to fussy babies, and help them to relax (and hopefully, to fall asleep!)

And here’s another similarity – while both swaddling and offering a pacifier are great ways to soothe and comfort your baby, both can quickly become habitual sleep associations. Parents who initially love swaddling their babies, or popping in a pacifier, may not be feeling the love when they find themselves getting up every 20 minutes at night to re-do the swaddle, or to replace the pacifier!

And so, with both swaddling and pacifier use, there comes a time when parents start asking themselves, “Can I stop doing this yet? Should I stop doing this yet?” We’ve answered this question already, when it comes to pacifier use – check out our article How And When To Help Your Baby or Toddler Stop The Pacifier for tips.

Today, we are going to answer that question for swaddling. Specifically, we’ll look at how to stop swaddling your baby, and when to stop swaddling your baby.

When To Stop Swaddling Your Baby

The first question many parents have is, “When can I (or should I) stop swaddling my baby?” The good news is that there is no hard-and-fast answer to this. You “can” stop swaddling your baby whenever you feel it’s best. You know your baby best, after all!

Remember that while most people use swaddling as a soothing technique during the newborn stage, and then start to phase it out around 3 or 4 months, it’s not uncommon for babies to be swaddled when they are 6, 7, 8, even 9 months old. Most older babies will eventually start to reject swaddling, but that’s not true for all older babies; some will continue to sleep better while swaddled well past 6 months.

That said, here are some general guidelines you can use to help determine when to stop swaddling your baby:

The average age to stop swaddling baby is around 3 or 4 months of age.

Newborns are born with a startle reflex, called the Moro reflex, and most babies don’t outgrow it until 4 or 5 months of age. So be careful about stopping the swaddle too early; if your baby’s Moro reflex is still strong, she may startle herself awake at night and during naps.

If your baby is able to break free of his swaddle, this isn’t necessarily a sign that it’s time to stop swaddling. However, if your baby is consistently breaking free of his swaddle every night, and if that means you have loose blankets in the crib, then it’s time to either stop swaddling or to switch to a safer swaddling blanket. We recommend the Miracle Blanket.

Swaddled babies should NEVER sleep face-down. So if your baby is starting to roll over on to her tummy while she sleeps, that is a strong sign that it’s time to stop swaddling your baby. Remember, when it comes to swaddling, safety first!

Make sure that your baby is not swaddled all day long. While swaddling for sleep is fine, especially during the newborn stage, babies need time to move freely as well, so that they can grow stronger and develop their gross motor skills. If your baby spends all of his sleep AND awake time swaddled, it might be time to gradually stop swaddling during his awake time.

If you are getting ready to sleep train, or sleep coach, you will likely want to stop swaddling first, before you begin sleep training. Part of the sleep training process involves helping your child learn to self-soothe, and babies need to be unswaddled in order to learn to self-soothe.

How To Stop Swaddling Your Baby

For babies who are not highly dependent on swaddling for comfort and are great self-soothers, or for babies who are becoming increasingly resistant to the swaddle, it will probably be easy to stop swaddling. But if your baby is very dependent on his swaddle to sleep, it may be tough to stop swaddling! Fortunately for you, we have tips. 🙂

In general, the best way to stop swaddling a baby is to do it gradually. This means starting by leaving one arm, or one leg, unswaddled at first. From there, you can gradually move to leaving both arms, or both legs, unsaddled. Eventually, you will build up to the point where you are not swaddling at all. The idea is that this slow, gradual transition makes it easier for a baby to get used to sleeping unswaddled.

There are also some products on the market that can make the transition from swaddling easier. One is the Swaddle Strap, by Anna & Eve. This is honestly the coolest swaddling product (those Amazon reviews don’t lie!). The Swaddle Strap works well in its own right as a swaddling tool; it’s great for warmer months when a full swaddling blanket is just too heavy, and it also makes diaper changes so much easier. You can use it as a tool to wean from the swaddle as well; by using the Swaddle Strap, you can swaddle your baby’s arms snugly while leaving her legs free. This is a great first step to transitioning away from the swaddle altogether!

Another product we love? The Zipadee-Zip. This awesome blanket is specifically designed to help you stop swaddling your baby, and make the transition away from the swaddle an easy one. The Zipadee-Zip offers babies a bigger range of motion than a traditional swaddle (which means that babies can practice self-soothing and can be a little ‘squirmier’), but it also provides enough constraint that it helps babies feel secure. This is a great product for older babies who may be attached to being swaddled but who are just getting too big, and to mobile, to be swaddled at night.

A final word, remember that any time you are weaning from a sleep association, the process can disrupt sleep. This means that if you decide to stop swaddling your baby for sleep, your baby may stop sleeping through the night initially. The process of transitioning away from swaddling can take a week or so, and during that time, your baby’s sleep may be affected. This is normal; once your baby is used to sleeping unswaddled, sleep should return to normal.

How and when did you stop swaddling your baby? Scroll down to share your story, to ask questions, and to hear from other parents just like you!

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Comments

Hanna smithsays

My daughter 7.5months old, was born at 25weeks so corrected age is 4 months. She has always been swaddles with hands by her face since we were in hospital. When she came home she was always such a good sleeper – she was sleeping 10-12hours waking for one feed. At corrected 2months she was sleeping right through without the feed and without being swaddled. But the past 4 weeks she’s gone right back!! Waking 3-5 times in the night, fighting to go back to sleep. We now have to swaddle her hands down otherwise she’ll just do anything she can to stay awake. I’m not sure how to get her back to her pattern, her day naps have never been great but she made up for it at night. Now she’s still not napping during the day and exhausting herself fighting sleep all night. It’s hard to tell where she sits developmentally as she was 3 and a half months early. So I tend to go by her corrected age more so. Any tips, tricks or advice would be greatly appreciated!!

My son is 7 months old. He LOVES to have his arms swaddled in the Halo sleep sack. We recently transitioned him to the zippadee zip. He had a horrible 4 nights and then seemed to settle into it. However after a few nights of sleeping pretty good (only waking a few times) he is back to waking up at least every hour. I am afraid to swaddle his arms since he tries to roll onto his side. We are at our whits end trying to figure this out and get sleep. He goes right back to sleep if I pick him up, or put him in his rock and play (it sort of cradles him) next to our bed. Is his crib just too big? What can I do?

Hi @Megan Schroeder, thanks for writing to us. I’m sorry to hear your little guy is struggling with leaving the swaddle and not liking the sleep sack. Since he is rolling it is wise to stop swaddling, and you will get through this! Just may take some time unfortunately. 🙁 If the tips from the article aren’t quite enough help, you may also want to download our free guide with tips for helping your baby sleep through the night: http://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-through-night-free-ebook/
In here you’ll see the topic of sleep associations, which is what the swaddle likely is for your son, so you can use those tips to help wean him from his need for it. I hope this helps! If you need more support, we are here so just let us know!

My 3.5 mo old shakes his head side to side so much that his hair on the back of his head is partially gone. The only reason I still swaddle is because he scratches and claws at his head and no matter how much i file/cut his nails, they are razor sharp. Help please :). Any recommendations?

@Alex – Thank you for sharing! If you haven’t discussed this behavior with your son’s healthcare provider, we’d encourage you to do so to rule out any medical reasons for such thrashing and scratching. We know babies often scratch at their faces when they’re tired or when they don’t know what else to do with their hands but it could be due to food allergies, itchies or other discomforts. Hang in there, Alex, and best wishes to you guys!

4 month old (as of yesterday), loves his halo swaddle. Has always been a poor sleeper. Has been rolling from tummy to back from time to time for a few months and once from back to tummy two weeks ago. Doesn’t seem to move much at night or nap. At Dr appointment yesterday Dr said to stop swaddling. The last 24 hours have been awful every hour last night and all day today could only sleep for 6 minutes before his startle reflex woke him up, even tried only one arm unswaddled. We are all miserable, do we really have to stop swaddling?

@Nicole – Thank you for reading and for sharing! Stopping the swaddle can be quite the traumatic experience, we know. Knowing how and when to stop the swaddle is different for each family. If your little guy’s dr has advised that you stop the swaddle and it’s not simply because your baby is 4 months old now, then it’s likely for a good reason so we’d advise reaching back out to the dr to better understand the reason for the suggestion. We definitely don’t advise continuing the swaddle if your baby is starting to roll over on his tummy during sleep as this is very dangerous if he is swaddled when he does so. If you haven’t considered some transitional swaddle products like those mentioned in the article, perhaps give them some thought as many of us have had amazing success with them. Hang in there, Nicole!

Our 3 month old daughter sleeps in a Mebie Baby swaddle and she loves it. It’s been our key item in getting her to sleep through the night and naps throughout the day. For the last few weeks, she has averaged around 7-8 hours straight sleep each night! We love our sleep also, but we began to wonder how long it will be okay to continue swaddling our little one at night. We don’t know if she will become dependent on it and it will end up becoming more difficult for her to sleep without it later on.

Hi @Elizabeth –
Thank you for writing! I am not familiar with this swaddle, but will check it out! it is great that you have found a favorite product to help with your little one’s sleep! Regarding when to stop swaddling, do fee free to follow the recommendations on this page, and as long as baby is swaddled safely, there is no need to change things right now. Please check out our article about safe swaddling here as a guide:Swaddling Safely
Thanks again for visiting us Elizabeth!

Hi, my 2.5 month old has began rolling onto her side during sleep whilst swaddled. I have tried to leave one arm out of her sleep bag, however she cotinues to wake herself up with her startle reflex.. her reflex is settling but it’s still disruptive to her sleep. What should i do? Im worried about the rolling onto her side as i have caught her with her face pressed up against the side of the bassinet when she has rolled.. I’m scared that i may not wake up to her in time and she suffocates. Should i continue to leave an arm out even if it means she wakes herself up? Do u have any tips on making this a smoother transition?

Hi @Sarah,
Thank you for writing to us! I’m sorry to hear you’re having some trouble with your baby’s sleep, but you are certainly not alone! Do know that this is a temporary stage, and your baby WILL get used to sleeping unswaddled and the startle reflex will disappear soon enough! If you haven’t yet, you can sign up to receive our free guide written just for families with young babies, “15 Baby Sleep Facts New Parents Need to Know” here:http://www.babysleepsite.com/15-free-baby-sleep-facts-new-parents-must-know?utm_source=crs&utm_medium=desk
I think it will be very helpful for you. : )
We do offer a few more in-depth solutions for parents who need more help. Our e-book, Essential Keys to Your Newborn’s Sleep, may be a good option for you. In it, we give you a complete toolkit to help your baby establish healthy sleep habits today and throughout the first year.
You can read more about our wonderful newborn/younger infant options here:http://www.babysleepsite.com/essential-keys-to-your-newborns-sleep?utm_source=crs&utm_medium=desk
Hang in there Sarah!

My three month old has recently started to break his arms out of the swaddle and seems frustrated and squirmy trying to get them out. I use the Halo sleep sack swaddle and fasten it pretty tight! He’s also been waking every hour or two the past few nights. Are these signs to stop swaddling? If so, should I swaddle arms out or should I try the Zen sleep sack that someone lent me? Thanks for your help!

Hi @Kristen, thanks for writing to us! I’m sorry your little guy has been breaking out of his swaddle! I always took the swaddle away from my kids around that age, but it really was just because I wanted to do it before they started rolling (which is when it becomes unsafe) and it became this big thing I had to break them of. (Just my personal experience, mom to mom). The wake ups could possibly be caused by his frustration with the swaddle, or he could be going through the changes that start around 4 months (and is commonly referred to and dreaded as the “4 month sleep regression”) which you can read about here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/4-month-old-sleep-regression/
If you need help working through this, let us know! We have so many resources that can help you through this very big and transitional time. Feel free to contact us directly at contact@babysleepsite.com
Good luck with everything, I hope this helps!

Hi. My 2 month daughter. Kept breaking free from her swaddle every time I would swaddle her when she was only 2 weeks. I kept trying until she was a month but once she was a month I stopped swaddling her and just wrapped her blankets around her and stuck it under her so she had the sense she was swaddled while being free to move her arms and legs the way she feels comfortable.

Hi @Sandy, thanks for writing to us. How you dress a baby would depend on the temperature of the room, as well as the climate you live in – for instance I am in Florida, so my summer baby just wore a diaper under his swaddle, but my January baby wore footed pajamas.
I would like to mention though that once the baby is able to roll, the swaddle does become unsafe since the baby’s arms are restricted. There are some transitional items to help with this that are listed in the article, or she may prefer a sleep sac which is a wearable (and safe) blanket for the baby if her parents are concerned about her getting cold. I hope this helps!